San Clemente Island Milkvetch

Tium nevinii (A. Gray) Rydberg
Astragalus Nevinii A. Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 21: 412. 1886.
A perennial, with a taproot; stems ascending or decumbent, white-tomentulose, 2-4 cm. high; leaves numerous, crowded, 4-10 cm. long, the rachis tomentulose; stipules lance-subulate, 3-5 mm. long; leaflets 1 1-21, obovate, 5-10 mm. long, whitevillous on both sides, cuneate at the base, rounded to retuse at the apex; peduncles 5-10 cm. long; racemes 2-4 cm. long; bracts lanceolate, 2-3 mm. long; pedicels very short; calyx villous with dark-brown hairs, the tube 3 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, the teeth subulate, 1.5 mm. long; corolla yellowish, 8-10 mm. long; banner obovate, strongly arched at the middle; wings shorter, the blade oblong, falcate; keel-petals still shorter, the blade broadly lunate; pod glabrous, stipitate, the stipe 7 mm. long, the body lance-linear, tapering at each end, strongly cross-reticulate, falcate, about 1.5 cm. long, 4 mm. wide, and 3 mm. thick, acute on the upper suture, deeply sulcate on the lower, the cross-section cordate, the septum 1 mm. wide, nearly reaching the upper suture.
Type locality: Island of San Clemente, California.
Distribution: San Clemente and Santa Barbara islands, off California.

Perennial, Herbs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stems silvery, canescent, tomentose, cobwebby, or wooly, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules membranous or chartaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compoun d, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals ochroleucous, cream colored, Petals orange or yellow, Banner petal narrow or oblanceolate, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style persistent in fruit, Fruit a legume, Fruit stipitate, Fruit tardily or weakly dehiscent, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit rugose wrinkled or reticulate, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit beaked, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 11-many seeded, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notche d at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Astragalus nevinii is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common name San Clemente Island milkvetch. It is endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. This is perennial herb growing upright 10 to 30 centimetres (4 to 12 in) tall. It is coated in woolly, tangled hairs. Its leaves are up to 8 centimetres (3+1⁄6 in) long and are made up of many oblong leaflets. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of up to 30 cream-colored flowers, each around 1 centimetre (5⁄12 in) in length. The fruit is a hanging legume pod up to 2 centimetres (3⁄4 in) long which is papery in texture and mostly hairless.